Secondhand Chances
by Mikauzoran
Summary: In which Haibara gives Kaito a scarf she claims she didn't make for him and Kaito finally decides to put himself out there again and take a risk.


Mikau: Hi everybody! Long time no see. I'm doing pretty well. Work seriously kicked my butt in August. There were a lot of eleven hour days with no lunch breaks, but it's getting better. This piece was actually done for the Poirot Café Forum's Super Short Contest 24: Scarf. I had fun writing fanfiction after a bit of a hiatus, so I hope you enjoy reading.

Disclaimer: Yes. I am definitely the middle-aged, Japanese, male genius behind this series. (In my dreams.)

…...

Secondhand Chances

Kaito opened the door and immediately wished he was wearing something besides his "Dear Math, please solve your own problems. I have enough of my own." t-shirt and baggy khakis. _Aoko_ seeing him in wrinkled loungewear was one thing, but _Haibara_ was currently standing on his front porch, blowing on her hands to keep warm and looking up at him with penetrating doe eyes, and Kaito really wished he didn't look like laundry.

"Uh…Hey," he muttered lamely, taking in her miniskirt, grey and pink leggings, and the snowflakes melting on her hair and eyelashes.

"Good evening." She bowed perfunctorily before stepping past him into the genkan. "Please pardon the intrusion."

"Uh, come in," he offered a little slowly, mind still trying to process her, there. He moved to get the guest slippers, but she was already ahead of him, pulling them out herself.

She confidently strode down the hall into the den, taking a seat on the couch as if _she_ were the one at home.

"Is something wrong?" Kaito finally got his act together and asked. "You don't usually drop in like this."

"That's more your thing, isn't it?" she hummed with a sliver of a smile and then assured, "No, just visiting."

Kaito nodded. "Would you like some tea?"

Haibara's nose twitch almost imperceptibly. "I would, if you were capable of making it properly."

Kaito rolled his eyes and laughed, feeling more in his element. He came to lean on the back of the armchair across from her, teasing, "You sound just like your cousin."

"Because we both know what proper tea is supposed to taste like," she countered with a smirk. "How is Saguru-kun doing? I wish I could see him. We were really close as children, but…"

"He's fine," Kaito quickly answered, cutting off her train of thought before it could stray too far into melancholy. "Still stuck in the mud and as annoying as ever, but…" He shrugged a shoulder and begrudgingly admitted. "He's really good to Aoko, and they seem happy, so I'm, unfortunately, growing fond of the monkey."

Haibara snorted in amusement, her facial features settling into a configuration that Kaito had learned to mean that she was pleased.

"How about some hot chocolate?" she suggested, shrugging off her coat and slowly peeling off her gloves.

He nodded in agreement, moving in to take her things. It was then he spotted the gift bag at her feet. "Back in a minute," he assured, going to the closet and then heading for the kitchen.

When he returned, he found her inspecting some old pictures of his family displayed on the sideboard. Her back was to him, and she didn't seem to hear him come in, so he was able to study her with impunity for nearly a full minute.

He was stuck by how different she looked, how much she'd changed in the seven years he'd known her.

" _That's not right,"_ he mentally sighed. _"She's hardly changed at all. Yeah, she's gotten taller, but she's looked carbon copy the same as Shiho at eighteen and Haibara at seven as she does now as a fourteen year-old._ You're _the one that's changed, Kuroba…the way you see her."_

Kaito had always viewed Haibara as an adult, even when she only came up to his hip, but now, he'd begun to see her as a _woman_ as well.

He set down the mugs on the coffee table, and Haibara started.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to—"

"—You changed," she cut him off with a puzzled frown.

He blinked, horrified. Had he been thinking aloud again?!

"I like that other shirt," she clarified, giving him an odd look.

He laughed in relief, realizing she'd been talking about his clothing. "Yeah, well…" He shrugged.

Haibara rolled her eyes, coming back to the couch and picking up the gift bag. She held it out to him. "This is why I'm here."

He blinked, mind not processing.

"Go on," she urged, thrusting the bag towards him. "I didn't make it for you, so it's not a gift, so don't think that, but you can have it, seeing as I don't have any use for it."

He took the bag, smiling appreciatively at the light blush she was trying to hide by turning away and covering her face with the hot chocolate mug.

He peeked inside, moving the tissue paper out of the way to reveal a handmade scarf in black and grey. "You made this for me?" His heart constricted. "Th-Thank you."

"I did not," she corrected matter-of-factly. "I was teaching Ayumi-chan how to crochet a scarf for Edogawa-kun's Christmas present, and I ended up making that one as an example. Like I said, I don't need it, so I thought I'd give it to you. You're always running around recklessly, underdressed, so I thought maybe it'd help keep you from catching a cold." She shifted uncomfortably.

He took a seat beside her and chuckled, "Idiots don't catch colds."

"You're not an idiot," Haibara mumbled into her drinking chocolate.

Kaito pulled out the scarf and admired it, feeling the soft yarn and noting the expert craftsmanship. The smile slowly drained from his lips as he whispered, "Thank you, but don't you think you should give it to Kudo and tell him how you feel? I mean…" He swallowed and forced himself to go on. "Now that Ran-san's moved on, I bet he's feeling pretty lost, so…you'd probably have a good shot. You two understand each other, and—"

"—Kudo-kun is an idiot, so he doesn't need a scarf to protect him from getting a cold," she snorted and then continued, softer, "Besides, it's not like that anymore."

She looked up at him, grey eyes slicing through him. "Aren't you feeling lost now that Aoko-san's moved on?"

They held each other's gaze for half a minute before Kaito finally spoke. "Next week…do you have plans for Christmas Eve?"

She shrugged. "The Professor is having the gang over. Aren't you going to Aoko-san's party?"

He looked away, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not really up to it…. Could I take you shopping? And maybe dinner or something?"

Haibara's eyes widened. "Like…a date?"

Kaito tensed, but he made himself look at her. "Yes? …Is that weird? If it is, we can just pretend I said no because I don't want to—"

She placed a hand over his mouth and granted him one of her rare smiles. "A date is good…Kaito."

The

End


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